Pseudocyphellaria subvariabilis (Nyl.) Vain.
Sticta subvariabilis Nyl., Flora 50: 439 (1867).
Thallus small, delicate, entangled-complicate, spreading, 5(-10) cm diam. Lobes complexly branched, entangled-imbricate, narrow, 1-3 mm wide and 4-10 mm long, di- or trichotomously branching at centre, becoming narrower and ± lobulate-phyllidiate at margins, sinuses semicircular. Upper surface bright lettuce-green when wet, pale yellowish-green or fawn when dry, shining, smooth, very slightly faveolate or wrinkled, uneven, without soredia, isidia, maculae or pseudocyphellae. Medulla white. Photobiont green. Lower surface glabrous, white, shining at margins, yellowish-brown, ± costate centrally, thinly tomentose centrally, tomentum pale buff, thin, rather ragged. Pseudocyphellae minute, fleck-like, white, punctiform, conspicuous at or near lobe margins, flat, immarginate. Apothecia submarginal or laminal, sparse to frequent, sessile to subpedicellate, disc pale yellowish-red or brownish, 2-4 mm diam., smooth, matt, plane or subconcave, margins pale flesh-coloured, inflexed at first, becoming crenulate-dentate, thalline exciple pale, verrucose-areolate. Ascospores colourless to pale brown, oblong-fusiform, 1-3-septate, 22-30 × 7-9 µm. Chemistry: 7β-Acetoxyhopan-22-ol, hopane-15α,22-diol, and hopane-7β-22- diol (tr.).
N: S: St: Throughout, mainly a twig and bark species in lowland and coastal forest in semi- shade and high humidity. A very variable species. Erroneously named P. multifida (Laurer) D. Galloway et James [ Lichenologist 12: 301 (1980)] in some earlier accounts. However Laurer never published Sticta multifida although he used this name on herbarium packets of the plant collected by Sieber in Australia which he described as S. laciniata Laurer. This name however, is a later homonym of S. laciniata (Sw.) Ach., a species from tropical and central America, now referable to Lobaria.
Palaeotropical
The plant is characterised by the rather narrow, delicate, entangled-imbricate lobes, often densely lobulate-laciniate (some ± broad-lobed forms have rather few marginal lobules or phyllidia) the pale, often white lower surface which is mainly glabrous except for central tufts of ragged tomentum, and the minute, flat, white, fleck-like pseudocyphellae which are most noticeable near the margins. It is a smaller much less robust plant than P. fimbriata and its marginal phyllidia are never pubescent. It is distinguished from P. episticta by the absence of laminal pseudocyphellae.
